Expectations
by Lavender Firefly
Summary: Hel and Sarge are at odds. Cleo and Sarge grow closer. A nemesis is back from the grave, Voice is questioned and a new villain is introduced.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: Cleo and all her friends from the TV show Cleopatra 2525 do not belong to me. The are the sole property of Studios USA/Renaissance Pictures. I just borrowed them for a while, purely for non-profit, of course. The following story (excluding the stuff I used from the episodes to set up the plot) is property of the author. Do not duplicate, archive or link to without the authors' consent.

RATING: T

WARNING: This story is about two women growing close...all subtext is intentional. And while there is no sex in this story, there will be in future ones. If you don't like the idea...don't read it.

***This stories is based on the occurrences in "Last Stand"***

(But you should be able to follow the story even if you haven't seen the episode)

Feedback is welcomed!

EXPECTATIONS ~ Chapter 1

by: RainaRose (LavenderFirefly)

Sarge sat on the table in the lab watching Hel as she studied a map. Things had been tense between the two women since Jake Lawson. Her stomach turned at the thought of him. "How could I have been so wrong?" she muttered to herself.

"You say something?" asked Hel as she looked up from the map.

"No." Sarge said. "I mean...I...," Sarge just couldn't seem to find the right words.

Hel looked at her, waiting for her to say whatever it was she was going to say. She was disappointed with Sarge. She felt that she had put the team in unnecessary danger. All for a man she didn't even know. OK, so he had shot her once and spared her life. But why she was so insistant that she help him was beyond her. And she certainly didn't understand her obvious attraction for him. She was hoping to get some answers

"I didn't know...I didn't mean...," Sarge stuttered. "Oh, come on Hel..you know I would never do anything to put the team in jeopardy."

"Do I?" Hel replied flatly.

"What the..." Sarge had started to reply but then noticed Hel was no longer focused on her. Her head tilted slightly to one side. It was Voice.

'Hel...'

"What is it Voice?" Hel asked.

'One of my teams fell under attack after obtaining important information. Their lab was destroyed and...they were all killed. Their leader managed to hide the disk. Ineed you to go retrieve it. This information is vital. I've sent Mauser the location. I need you to leave immediately.'

Hel turned her attention back towards Sarge and said, "Voice needs me to go on a mission." She then turned and headed towards Mauser.

"Don't you dare walk away from me! How could you even think that I would intentionally hurt the team?" The sharp tone of Sarges' voice stopped Hel in her tracks.

She turned around slowly and said, "How could I think that? Well, let's see...you take off to help a stranger because of some sick connection you think you have with him without even a thought to the risk involved. We could've been killed and..."

"I never asked you to go!" Sarge shouted. "I...

"Oh, and I guess I was just supposed to let you run off and get yourself killed, right? What the hell was..."

"Hey girls, check 'em out!" Cleo said as she strutted into the room, both arms extended outward. "Mauser replaced my sheilds that Jake creep took and I know you think I'm crazy...but don't you think the flowers I painted on are the perfect accent to this whole outfit?"

After not getting a response, Cleo glanced up and saw the two women staring at each other. She immediately felt he tension. "Ooh, I'm interrupting something, aren't I? My bad! What's the matter?"

"I need to get out of here. I need a break," Sarge said as she headed toward the holographic wall which was actually a hidden doorway.

"Wait, I..." Hel started to say but it was to late, Sarge had gone. "Damn, I gotta go after her."

'No Hel,' said Voice. 'I need you to retrieve that information. It is vital. You must leave now.

"Cleo! Go after Sarge. I have to do something for Voice."

"Me? Uhhhhh, what if I get lost? I don't even know...why did she leave. Hel, what's going on between you two? Is this about helping Jake?"

"No time to explain," Hel said. "Use your new gauntlets. And here..." Hel crossed the lab and grabbed a laser from a workstation then went over and clicked it into place on Cleos' gauntlet. "Go NOW or else she'll be too far ahead of you for your heat sensitive view-finder to work."

"Oooooo, OK," she said and then she ran out the wall. "But I don't even know how to work this laser thingy!"

Hel could hear her scream as she plunged into the shaft.

"And turn on your shields!" Hel yelled to her, hoping she would hear.

"Mauser, I need the directions Voice sent," her voice sounded determined but her heart wasn't into this mission. Her eyes drifted from the work station and over towards the doorway.

"She'll be OK," Mauser said as he followed Hel's gaze to the door.

"Yeah," she replied. "But will we be OK?"

Sarge was sure that Hel wouldn't follow. No, she would never let Voice down. And if the information was as important as Voice said it was, Sarge wouldn't want her to. The team, the missions...they were important to her, whether Hel realized that or not.

* * *

><p>She wasn't quite sure how she had ended up back at the crypt. She hadn't planned it. She hadn't even been sure where she was headed when she left the lab. All she knew was that she needed to get away from Hel and that disappointed look in her eye. But, here she was, outside the force field, staring at the barrels of poisonous treasure Jake had so desperately wanted. A treasure she had almost helped him get. If Voice hadn't found out about the passage under the floor, Jake would be living like a king. He would've traded the barrels for a level and whatever else... to who knows who ...or what. It had almost been a disaster. But the potential threat was safe now, Jerabo had redone the force field to include the floor. No, this stuff wouldn't be of any use to anyone.<p>

When she had heard his distress call all she could think of was how she couldn't let this great man down. After all...he had spared her life. She had heard so many impressive things about the man. He had qualities that were hard to find in people anymore. She had heard he was honest, dedicated, loyal...she had looked up to him and had wanted to be like him. Now she wondered if anything she had heard had been true or if circumstances and years of fighting had taken its toll. She was hoping for the later. She didn't want to think herself that bad a judge of character. She wondered where it had all changed for him. Where it had stopped being about helping people and started being about helping himself.

No, Jake Lawson wasn't the man she had thought him to be...he had turned out to be quite the disappointment. And she, in turn, had been a disappointment to Hel. Hel had been right. She had led the team into a dangerous situation because of an infatuation she'd had with a product of her own imagination. She hadn't known the man she went to help...all she knew was the man she had built him up to be. And that could've got her friends killed.

"How could I have been so damn stupid?" Sarge yelled as she hit the wall.

"Whoa, easy there killer. What's that poor wall ever done to you?"

Sarge whirled around, gauntlet raised out of instinct. She stared in disbelief, then slowly shook her head and thought 'I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that Cleo actually got the drop on me.' Now Sarge was even more disgusted with herself.

"Hey, hey, hey...it's me Cleopatra," Cleo exclaimed with wide eyes. "Jeez, don't go all postal on me."

Sarges eyebrow shot up. "Postal?...Oh never mind...What are you doing here Cleo? And what the hell is that?" Sarge asked as her gaze fell upon the laser now attached to Cleo's flower clad gauntlet.

"What...oh this?" Cleo asked as she pointed to the weapon. "Hel gave me a laser thingy in case I ran into trouble before I got to you. Not that I know how to work it. I think it was mainly for shock value...you know, little girl, big gun." Cleo grinned and began to poke around her gauntlet with a tentative finger.

"Hey, stop that...come here!"

Cleo looked up with a puzzled expression and went over to Sarge.

"Give me that before you shoot your foot off," Sarge said as she removed the laser from the young girls gauntlet. "Or my foot," she added with a slight smirk. "Now, tell me...what are you doing here?"

"Hel told me to follow you. She was worried. She wanted to come after you herself but Voice..." Cleo was cut off when Sarge said, "Hel wouldn't have come after me."

"Sarge, what's going on? What were you and Hel arguing about? Why did you take off?"

Sarge sighed and leaned up against the wall, then slowly slid down until she was sitting in the floor. Cleo plopped down cross-legged in front of her.

"Hel thinks I put the team in danger by rushing off to help Jake."

"You didn't ask us to go."

"I know, that's what I told Hel, but..."

"But...?"

"But I knew you wouldn't let me go alone. That's even worse than if I had asked you to go. You put your lives in danger and all because of my bad judgement," Sarge said as she hung her head, not wanting to look Cleo in the eye. "He wasn't the man I expected him to be."

"Sarge, you couldn't have known," Cleo said as she reached out her hand to grasp Sarges. "All those stories you heard about him being a great protector, the fact that he didn't kill you when he could have...going into this you expected to be helping someone you looked up to, your role model. It's not your fault. And, if we hadn't responded to Jake's distress call, he would've had all that plutonium...and who knows whose hands it may have fallen into."

Sarge was silent.

"And I'm sure Hel realizes that too. We stopped Jake from trading a dangerous weapon. Who knows all the lives you may have saved. That's worth something, ya know."

"It's hard when people we look up to, people we shape our lives after, turn out to be nothing like we expected," Cleo stated sympathetically.

Sarge glanced up. "Yeah, it is."

She then realized Cleo was still holding her hand and she gave it a slight squeeze as she said, "Thanks Cleo."

"For what?"

"For trying to make me feel better," Sarge said. "And for coming after me."

"Hey, what are friends for? Remember...all for one, one for all!" Cleo said cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood. She then stood up and brushed the dirt off her behind with her free hand while gently tugging on Sarges arm with the other. "Come on...let's head back to the lab. Maybe Hel needs our help."

Sarge allowed herself to be pulled up and found herself standing barely an inch away from Cleopatra. She looked down into those big eyes and said in a voice barely above a whisper, "Yeah, let's go home." They stood that way for a few seconds longer than necessary. Sarge reached up and ran her hand down the length of Cleo's arm, stopped at her hand and gave it another squeeze. She backed up a few steps and looked at Cleo with a with one eyebrow raised and a slight smirk on her face, then turned and headed out the way they had came.

Cleo stood riveted to the spot where she was and absentmindedly ran her hand over the same arm Sarge had touched. 'What was that all about?' she thought. 'If I didn't know any better I'd have swore that...' "Nah, no way!" Cleo said aloud and chuckled to herself. "Hey Sarge, wait up!" she shouted and ran to catch up to her friend.


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: Cleo and all her friends from the TV show Cleopatra 2525 do not belong to me. The are the sole property of Studios USA/Renaissance Pictures. I just borrowed them for a while, purely for non-profit, of course. The following story (excluding the stuff I used from the episodes to set up the plot) is property of the author. Do not duplicate, archive or link to without the authors' consent.

RATING: T+

WARNING: This story has alot of flirting and although it contains no sex...you can tell they'll be heading that way in the future. This story also has a little gore, some questionable language and suggests violence. If you think any of that will bother you, go away. ;)

***Author's suggestion: If you haven't read 'More Like Home' or 'Expectations ~ Part 1' - You probably should.***

* * *

><p><strong>EXPECTATIONS<strong> ~ Chapter 2

by: RainaRose (LavenderFirefly)

The trip back to the lab was a relatively silent one. Sarge's mind whirled. She wondered what she would say to Hel...and what Hel would say to her. Sarge knew why Hel had got so upset but she hoped that she'd had enough time to cool down and to maybe begin to see things from her perspective. And she hoped that what Hel had said about her intentionally putting the team in danger was said out of anger and frustration rather than her real feelings. She hated fighting with her comrade, but they were so much alike that it was inevitable.

And then there was Cleo. The girl had definitely grown on her these past few months and she was beginning to care deeply for the her. 'A little too deeply,' she thought.

Cleo lagged somewhat behind Sarge, although never letting the woman out of her sight. She still wasn't used to the underground and preferred not to traverse it alone, unless out of necessity. And Sarge had been a necessity. Hel couldn't have just let her run off angry and alone. Hel would've went herself if Voice hadn't insisted she leave immediately to retrieve the information disk, but Cleo was glad that it ended up being her, and not Hel, that went after Sarge. 'Those two just needed a time out,' she thought. 'I'm sure everything will be fine once we get back to the lab. I'm sure Hel is back from her mission and has cooled off by now.'

The mission. Cleo had wondered why Voice only needed Hel for this mission. Usually they all did things together. 'Oh well, I'm sure Voice knows what she's doing. If she is a she!' When she had first found out about the Voice she was a little skeptical. She had a little trouble grasping the concept of jumping into action every time a Voice in your head tells you to. 'People have been committed for things like that in the past,' she thought. But she trusted Hel and Sarge and from what she could see, they trusted the Voice so that was good enough for her.

Since they found her all those months ago they had done nothing but protect and care for her. They had made her a part of their team, their 'family'. She cared about them a lot. But she had often wondered about the extent of their relationship. Of course, she would never ask but she assumed there was a little more than friendship involved. Which was no big deal really except...she could've swore Sarge was just flirting with her! And while she did find Sarge attractive she didn't want to step on any toes...especially Hel's.

"She'd kick my ass big time," Cleo said aloud, but quietly enough so that Sarge wouldn't hear.

"Cleo!" Sarge yelled. "You coming?"

Cleo was so wrapped up in her thoughts she hadn't even noticed that she had fallen way behind. Sarge had stopped and was waiting for her. Cleo hurried to catch up. They were just about to the lab, standing at the ledge directly across from the holographic wall entrance. This was Cleo's least favorite part of shaft travel. No matted how many times she had done it, swinging towards what looks like a real wall was totally unnerving. 'Plus I always fall on my butt! Oh well...here goes nothing,' she thought as she raised her gauntlet ready to launch the web thingy.

Sarge, who was watching Cleo out of the corner of her eye noticed the slight grimace on the girls face. She knew Cleo hated this part and that she always made a less than graceful entrance into the lab and she had to suppress the urge to laugh. Instead she grabbed Cleo around the waist and effortlessly picked her up and said "Hold on tight!" and launched her web.

Cleo's arms instinctively wrapped around Sarges neck and she held on for dear life as they swung towards the entrance to the lab. They landed inside, both on their feet.

"And that's how it's done," Sarge said as she set the girl down and unwrapped her arm from Cleo's waist.

"Impressive," Cleo said with a huge grin. The girl then turned on her heels began to head towards her room. "My behind thanks you ever so much," she called out to Sarge as she slowly and deliberately swayed her hips from side to side.

"Nice behind," Sarge mumbled under her breath while chuckling and shaking her head.

"Uh, you say something?" Cleo stopped and turned her head to glance back at her friend still standing by the lab entrance.

"Yeah, I said anytime!" Sarge lied. Then she watched as Cleo headed into her room.

Sarge paced the lab in a frustrated silence. What could be taking Hel so long? It was a simple retrieval mission and according to her calculations based on the information provided by Voice, Hel should've returned hours ago.

"Are you still awake?" Mauser asked as he entered the main part of the lab. He had been in one of the back rooms, working on strengthening the teams shields. Mauser had become a valuable asset since Hel had reconfigured his betrayer programming. Granted his model of betrayer was outdated, but he still possessed a great deal of technical knowledge and was very important to the team.

"Mauser, somethings gone wrong...I just know it. Hel should've been back by now. I'm going after her." Sarge stated.

"Not without me you're not," came a sleepy voice from another room. A few moments later, Cleo stepped out into the lab, shielding her eyes from the lights with her hand as she yawned. The girl had been so tired that she had fallen asleep with her clothes and gauntlets on.

Sarge looked at Cleo with astonishment. She hadn't been talking that loud, she had made sure to keep her voice down. She knew Cleo didn't sleep well and she was relieved to find the girl sleeping when she had checked in on her a while back. She didn't want to disturb the little sleep she managed to get here and there.

Cleo, seeing the questioning look on Sarges' face said, "Did I ever tell you guys, that when I do sleep, I'm a really light sleeper? OK, so when are we leaving to find Hel?"

"You're not going Cleo." Sarge stated as she checked her gauntlets to make sure everything was working properly.

"Um, excuse me?"

Sarge looked up. "You're staying here. Look, I don't know what's going on but I don't have a real good feeling about this. I don't want you in the middle of whatever trouble I may run into."

"No, you look...Hel has risked her life for me and I'm not gonna just sit around when she could be in trouble." Cleo said emphatically. But her words fell on deaf ears. Sarge was ignoring her.

"Hello...did you hear me? I said I'm going with you."

"No!" Sarge simply said, not even bothering to look up.

Cleo walked over to where Sarge was standing and stood there in front of her, arms crossed, foot tapping, waiting for her to look up and acknowledge her presence. Finally, when Sarge was satisfied that every gadget on her gauntlet was in proper working order she looked up into Cleo's waiting gaze.

"Did you want something?" Sarge asked sarcastically. But that didn't even phase Cleo.

"She's my friend too," Cleo said softly. "Am I a part of this team or not?"

"You know you are Cleo."

"Well?"

"Well...I guess you'll be needing this back," Sarge said as she reached her hand down the front of the tight fitting shirt to retrieve the laser she had taken from Cleo earlier, which was now nestled in her cleavage. Cleo tried not to glance downward. But as hard as she tried, it seemed her eyes had a mind of their own and she found herself looking ever so quickly at Sarges' chest. Cleo had wondered why no one in the year 2525 seemed to believe in pockets anymore!

Sarge was watching Cleo's face, and found it amusing that she was turning several shades of red and that her eyes kept darting to and from her chest. Oh how Sarge loved being a tease! But what she wanted to know was whether Cleo was watching intently because she was anxious to get her laser back and get going...or if there was something else the girl wanted. But there would be time enough to find that out, Sarge thought to herself.

When Sarge finally had the weapon in hand she reached down for Cleo's right arm, raised it up and re-attached the laser. She also checked to make sure her shields were working OK. She didn't want to take any chances...she had to be sure Cleo's gauntlet was working as well as her own. And only when she was convinced of just that did she let go of the girls arm.

"You ready?" Sarge asked.

"Let's see...laser, CHECK...shields, CHECK ...web-thingy shooter, CHECK! Yep, I'm ready!"

"Ah, just one question Cleo..."

"Shoot!"

"Exactly."

"Huh?" Cleo cocked her head slightly to the side and looked quizzically at Sarge.

"Shooting," Sarge explained. "Your laser...unless you've been getting lessons from Mauser on the side, you've never even shot that thing."

Aw, come on...how hard can it be? Just point and shoot. Besides, I saw Star Wars 17 times. I'd like to think I came away with a little something."

Sarge didn't bother to ask. She was used to Cleo's strange sayings and references to things she called 'movies'. Instead she said, "Come on. You're not heading off into who-knows-what not knowing what to expect when you fire your laser. But this is gonna be one quick lesson, then we have to go find Hel."

"Cool, a crash course in laser fire!" Cleo said as she followed Sarge out of the lab.

They went into a back section of the lab and thru a very narrow crevice into a large room that Hel and Sarge often used for training and target practice. Cleo looked around as Sarge set up the targets for her to shoot at. The room was sparse. A few bars hung from various places on the walls and ceiling and there were, what looked to Cleo like weights scattered around on the ground. Then there was a large round metal frame with a rubbery material stretched across the top.

"Hey... a trampoline! You guys didn't tell me you had one of these! No wonder you guys can do all those really cool flips." Cleo said. "When are you gonna teach me stuff like that?"

"First things first. Come here," Sarge ordered.

Cleo walked over to where Sarge was. She had set up targets along a natural rock shelf that had formed. There were large round pieces of plastic and tall discarded pieces of pipes of all different shapes and sizes. They were about 50 yards away from them and Cleo was startled when Sarge fired without warning and hit one of the targets with ease.

"Now you try," Sarge said as she turned to Cleo.

"OK. Like this?" Cleo asked as she aimed her gauntlet toward the target.

Sarge came up behind Cleo and put her left arm around her waist to steady her. Then, with her right arm she guided up Cleo's arm up while gently saying in her ear, "First you have to steady yourself, stand with your feet slightly apart." She let her own leg nudge Cleo's legs apart until she was standing square. She felt Cleo's slight intake of breath at the contact and was glad Cleo couldn't see the sly smile on her face. "The lasers have a little bit of a kickback when on a high setting," Sarge said into Cleo's ear as she tightened her grip around the girls waist. "You want to be prepared and stay balanced. Then you take aim...line up the shot...and shoot." Cleo fired and she thought it was a good thing Sarge was holding her because she really wasn't prepared for the force that accompanied the blast. Her shot didn't come anywhere near the intended target and she dropped her arm, discouraged.

Sarge gently lifted her arm back up and said kindly, "that's OK...try again...now you know what to expect."

Cleo fired off a couple more shots, growing more and more confident after each one. She even managed to hit a few of the targets. She was so into what she was doing she didn't even realize Sarge still had hold of her around the waist until she heard, "great job, Cleo" spoken into her ear. The words sent a shiver down her spine and she became all too aware of the closeness and found she was disappointed when Sarge pulled away. Cleo could no longer deny it, she was attracted to Sarge. 'Get a grip Cleo...she's off limits,' the girl thought to herself. She hoped Sarge hadn't notice the trembling going on throughout her entire body.

Sarge had to admit she was impressed. In just the few moments she had been working with the girl, Cleo had picked up, and was pretty good with, the basics of laser fire. She was a natural and with more practice, Sarge didn't doubt she'd be as good as her and Hel. She made a mental note to work with Cleo when they got back and chastised herself for having not done it before. Besides, she had rather enjoyed the lesson. But first things first...and that was Hel.

Cleo turned to Sarge after admiring her handiwork with the laser. "Not bad for a beginner, huh?" she asked.

"Not bad at all," Sarge replied with a smirk and a slightly raised eyebrow. "Come on, let's go find Hel.

The two women headed back into the main part of the lab. Sarge looked expectantly at Mauser. "Any word yet?" she asked hopefully. Mauser just shook his head. Sarge crossed over and took one last look at the directions that Voice has sent for Hel. The retrieval point was not far from a bar that she had been to on occasion. It was just one level down from there. She knew about where they were going which made her feel a little better, but she still couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong.

"Come on Cleo," Sarge called and the two girls walked out the holographic door and began a free fall down towards the lower levels.

* * *

><p>Level 23 section 4. They were there. It was dark except for some strange phosphorescent plant life which cast out an eerie, dim, blue-green light. Both Cleo and Sarge could hear the music from the bar which was one level up. Cleo turned to Sarge, "She had SO better NOT be up there having a drink and kicking back while we're down here in this creepy ass tunnel looking for her!"<p>

But Sarge didn't hear her. Her eyes had spotted something on the floor and she went running over and crouched down to get a better look. Cleo saw her reach her hand down and tentatively touch a dark spot on the ground, then slowly lift it back up.

"Oh no! Oh please NO!" Sarge exclaimed, sounding frightened.

"W-w-what is it?" Cleo asked with big eyes and a quivering voice. She hadn't like the sound of Sarges voice and was not expecting good news.

"It's blood. A lot of blood." Sarge stood up, still staring down at the blood which covered her fingers. Then her eyes caught a glimpse of something metal glimmering in the blue-green glow and she slowly crossed the space between the object and her and then stooped ever so slightly to scoop it off the ground. She turned to Cleo with an look of incredible disbelief and horror and said "It's the Voice receptor."

Cleo closed the distance between them in seconds and she took the small metal cylindrical object into her hands She immediately recognized it as the Voice receptor, for she had held it in her hands once before...the time she had extracted it from Hel to save her life. She looked over at Sarge and began to cry. "What are we going to do?" Cleo asked.

"Maybe voice knows what's happened to Hel...who did this to her,' Sarge said, anger beginning to replace fear and sadness.

"But we can't hear Voice! And can she even hear us?"

"I think she can hear us...but we can't hear her unless...," Sarge started and let her voice dwindle off as she looked at Cleo. She knew what she was about to propose was barbaric but there was no other way.

She saw the way Sarge was looking at her and knew exactly what she had in mind. "You want to put that thing in my head, don't you?" Cleo asked, knowing full well what the answer was. She knew they couldn't waste time going all the way back to the lab when Hel was very obviously in serious trouble.

"We can't put it in me, it would interfere with my eye and I won't be of much use to either of us if I can't see," Sarge explained and hoped Cleo didn't think it was some lame excuse. The truth was she would cut open her own head and put the receptor in there herself if she could. But she couldn't and that left Cleo. She had half expected to have to argue with the girl but Cleo surprised her again but turning sideways and saying, "Hurry up before I change my mind."

"You'd better sit down," Sarge told her and guided her towards the wall. Then she sat down next to her and took a small laser tool from her gauntlet. "Turn your head sideways and place it against the wall, I don't want you to move when I start cutting or you might end up with out an ear," Sarge tried to ease the mood ever so slighly. She then placed her left hand against Cleo's head to press it to the wall to keep her still and before Cleo knew it, Sarge used the laser and quickly made a small incision behind her ear just above the jawline.

Cleo let out a cry of agony that Sarge felt tear right through her soul. She hated having to inflict this kind of pain on someone she cared so deeply for. She wanted this to be over as quickly as possible so she immediately slipped the receptor into Cleo and used the small laser's lowest setting to cauterize the wound. Cleo passed out and Sarge laid her down onto her lap. She took comfort in the fact that when it came time to remove the receptor from Cleo and return it to Hel, Mauser would be able to do it painlessly. And they WOULD return it to Hel. 'She just has to be OK,' Sarge thought. 'She just HAS to be.'

"Cleopatra...," Sarge called out softly. She was cradling the girls head and gently stroking her hair. "Cleo...wake up."

Cleo opened her eyes and an excruciating pain shot through her head. "Owww! Did someone get the number of the truck that just hit me?"

Sarge smiled a quick smile of relief. She didn't know what a truck was and she didn't care...she could tell Cleo was OK by the return of her strange sayings. She helped the girl sit up but didn't let her go.

"How are you feeling Cleo?" Sarge asked.

"A little dizzy...and my head hurts...but other than that, I'm alright."

_'Cleopatra, is that you? Can you hear me?'_

"Voice?" Cleo asked.

_'Yes Cleopatra, it's me.'_

Cleo turned to Sarge, "It's Voice!" she said.

"Ask her what happened to Hel," Sarge demanded.

"Voice, do you know what happened to Hel?" Cleo asked and held her breath awaiting the answer.

_'Yes...Raina has Hel,'_ Voice said.

"Well?" Sarge was growing impatient.

Cleo reached out to take Sarges hand.

"Sarge..., " she began then paused, then started again. "Raina has Hel."

In that instant, Cleo saw a hatred ignite in Sarges eyes...a hatred so intense it frightened her. And then Sarge spoke in a cold and angry voice, "We are going to find Hel and when I get my hands on Raina...I'm gonna kill that bitch."


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: Cleo and all her friends from the TV show Cleopatra 2525 do not belong to me. The are the sole property of Studios USA/Renaissance Pictures. I just borrowed them for a while, purely for non-profit, of course. The following story is property of the author. Do not duplicate, archive or link to without the authors' consent (of course if you're from Renpics and you want to use any of my subtextual ideas/scenes...feel free *g*).

TECHNOLOGICAL DISCLAIMER:Now folks...I never said I was any good at the 'techie stuff'. My fanfic tends to lean towards the 'mushy relationship stuff'. I made up a few gadgets in this piece and tried to write in a little more action but it probably isn't perfect so just remember...it's fiction.

RATING: T+

WARNING: Suggested violence, some questionable language and a little flirting. If you think any of that will bother you, go away. ;)

Author's note: Anything bold, italicized AND within single quotations is the Voice. _'Like this_!'

* * *

><p><strong>Expectations<strong> ~ Chapter 3

By: RainaRose (LavenderFirefly)

"All I want to know is WHY did you send Hel on that mission alone?" Sarge asked in a very tense but even tone. She was trying to stay in control. Hel always criticized her hot-hotheadedness...said it would some day get her killed, but she'd be damned if it would cause the death of her friend. No...she had to stay in control.

She was looking over at Cleo, waiting for the girl to relay the message from the receptor in her head. The girl was sitting on the ground, pale and shaking, but her eyes showed a fierce determination and a strength that Sarge found surprising for someone so unaccustomed to such a hardened existence.

_'There was no mission.'_

"Voice says there was no mission."

"What?" Sarge asked, not quite believing what she had just heard. "How can that be...Hel said you needed her to retrieve some lost information disk, she received the data you sent regarding the mission."

_'It was all Raina.'_

"Voice says it was all Raina," Cleo relayed. "Hey...isn't Raina dead?"

"Obviously not," Sarge snapped out of frustration. "Great, just great...and how do we know it isn't Raina now? For all we know she's doing her little mind tricks on you right now Voice."

Cleo listened for a moment and then said, "Voice says she doesn't have an answer but she assures us tha-..."

"I don't want assurances from you," Sarge interjected, her voice slowly rising. And seeing a look of fear flash into Cleo's big eyes she quickly added in a hushed voice, "I'm talking to Voice." Cleo mouthed a silent agreement and nodded her head, Sarge then continued. "How can we be sure you aren't going to send us into a trap just like Hel! Come on Voice, answer me...how can you be sure you're not being influenced or controlled?"

There was a brief pause before Voice said, _'I can't.'_

"Voice says she can't." Sarge walked over to where Cleo was sitting on the ground and helped the girl to her feet. "Come on...let's go back to the lab and get this thing out of your head. It looks like we're on our own finding Hel."

_'Cleopatra...you must convince Sarge to let my receptor remain in you. It is imperative that I be able to communicate with you both.'_

Cleo remained silent on the way back to the lab. She had no intention of trying to convince Sarge to listen to Voice. She agreed with Sarge, how could they know if it really was Voice...or if it was Raina controlling Voice. No, she couldn't take the chance and she knew Sarge felt the same way. The sooner she got the receptor out of her ear...the better off they were.

Back at the lab Mauser took to the delicate task of removing the receptor and Cleo was glad to find out that it involved a lot less pain than the ordeal she had gone through down in the tunnel. Cleopatra was resting comfortably in a healing tube and Sarge had just finished briefing Mauser on everything that had happened.

"So it looks like Raina is not dead after all," Mauser said. "Even though Cleopatra activated the nano-thermite incendiary that I injected into Raina, the Bailey she was in must have counteracted it."

"Looks that way Mauser." And then it hit her...she slowly walked over to a panel of controls and began punching in a sequence of codes. "Mauser, I'm deactivating you until this thing with Raina is taken care of. If Raina is controlling Voice then she's also able to get to you. I can't take the chance that she's influencing your program." And with that she hit a few other buttons and Mauser went off-line. "Sorry."

Sarge walked over to the healing tube that contained Cleopatra. She was looking better. The color had returned to her face and there didn't even seem to be a mark where she had been cut. She decided to give her a few more minutes before she brought her out. "Looks like it's just you and me Cleo," she sighed and walked over to the main database.

"Computer, upload Hel's bio-chem profile into a remote drone."

"Upload complete," the computer reported after a few moments.

Sarge loaded the drone into the launcher then walked across the lab to the steel grey holographic entrance. "If it worked finding Cleo in a betrayer factory it'll work finding Hel in the underground." She launched the drone down the shaft and hoped for the best.

Heading back over to the computer she called up the display of the levels nearest Hel's disappearring point. "If I were a mind reading psychopathic bitch...where would I hide...," she mumbled to herself as the details of the various levels came up in a colorful 3-D display. There had to be a reason for Raina to pick that particular location.

She watched as the remote drone, which she was monitoring from the lab, paused right at the spot where Hel had fallen victim to Raina. Then it suddenly veered straight up through the rock ceiling into the level above it. Right into the bar...and...she peered closed as she couldn't believe what she was seeing...the light green pulse that represented the drone on her display was traveling inside a space that was shown to be solid rock: the back wall of the bar. And then it hit her...how could she have forgotten. Sarge watched as the drone indicator twisted and turned for what seemed like miles and then came to a complete stop. She programmed the coordinates into the holo-display on her gauntlet and then went to wake Cleo.

"Uh, you wanna run that by me one more time," Cleo said as she scratched her head and tried to stifle a yawn. Her head didn't hurt anymore and when she reached up to feel behind her ear and was pleasantly surprised to find no trace of the gash that had been there just a short while ago. She let her legs dangle over the side of the table as she tried to gather her senses and get out of the haze that seemed to have settled into her brain in the short time she had spent recovering.

"Years ago, when I was younger I wa..."

"When you were with The Black Watch?" Cleo interrupted.

"Hey, do you want to hear this or not?"

"Yeah, go ahead...jeez..."

"OK, a while back I remember hearing about a network of tunnels."

Cleo smiled. "Hello! That's no surprise when you live underground!"

Sarge just shot her a look that said 'interrupt me again and I'll kill you' and continued on. "Secret tunnels that can only be accessed by secret passages hidden throughout the levels. The tunnels aren't common knowledge. Creegan knows of some. So do a few of the other bad-asses. I'm sure Raina found out about them by reading someone's thoughts."

"Hmmmmm. And I guess Raina used her mind tricks on Hel, cut out the receptor so Voice wouldn't know what was happening and took her into the tunnels to..." Cleo let her voice dwindle off, not wanting to say aloud what they were both thinking. "No, I'm not even gonna go there. Hel's fine, she's fine...I know she is."

"She's a tough lady."

"Did the remote drone find her? Do we even know where to start looking?" Cleo asked, the worry in her voice apparent.

"We know exactly where to start looking," Sarge said seeing the relief in her friend's eyes as she heard the words. "The tunnels twist and curve and go from one level to the next. The nearest entrance that I know of is not far from where Hel disappeared. Don't know if it's the one Raina used but it's our only option and uh..."

"And uh... what Sarge? What is it you're not telling me? Where is this entrance?"

"It's in that bar. The one above where Hel disappeared. And let's just say we have to dress for the occasion in order to blend in. We don't want to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves. We just want to go in, have a drink, make our way to the back of the bar and disappear."

"Sarge?"

"Huh?"

"I am NOT stripping again!"

"Don't worry," Sarge relied with a grin, "neither am I."

"And...Sarge?" Cleo said tentatively. "Um, how exactly did Raina control Voice? I mean, Hel was here with us in the lab..."

Sarge just slowly shook her head.

"Do you think she was somewhere nearby? Or has she found another way of getting to Voice?"

"I wish I knew Cleo...I wish I knew."

* * *

><p>Hel woke up in complete darkness. She was laying on the ground, cold. She felt for her gauntlets, they were gone. "Figures..." she sighed. Her eyes were straining, trying to make out a shadow...anything. Her head hurt. A shaking hand lifted to tentatively touch the still oozing wound behind her right ear. Then she remembered the receptor being cut out of her ear. And she remembered Raina...but the details were a little fuzzy.<p>

As she struggled to fully regain consciousness she recalled the events that had gotten her to her current state. 'A mission. Voice sent me on a mission. But there was no hidden information disk. And what had Raina been doing there? Had Raina been manipulating Voices' thoughts or...had Voice sent me into a trap. I just hope it wasn't the latter. But how had Raina gotten to Voice? Was it through me? Or has she found another way to get to Voice?' Hel didn't have the answers but she was going to find them. As she stood up a wave of dizziness came over her as a blinding pain shot through her head and she fell to the floor in agony.

"Need a hand Hel?" a sarcastic and evil voice called from somewhere nearby.

Hel recognized Raina's voice immediately. She heard steps approaching her but she was in too much pain to do anything about it. 'Besides...you can't fight what you can't see,' she thought to herself.

"What's the matter Hel..finding it a little difficult to see? Oh alright, if you must have light..."

Hel could hear Raina moving about and she struggled to sit up and she tried to force the pain out of her mind. She followed the noise with her eyes out of instinct, wanting to be ready for anything. Her fear was giving way to curiosity. She figured that if Raina had wanted her dead, she'd had the opportunity and yet didn't take it. No, Raina wanted her alive...but for what Hel wondered.

The light came suddenly and Hel covered her eyes from the blinding beam. When her eyes adjusted she could see Raina standing a few feet in front of her and she realized the light was coming from her own gauntlets which were on Raina's arms.

"Where are we Raina?" Hel said as she started walking towards the smaller woman.

Hel was trying to ignore the throbbing pain in her head. Her muscles were stiff from laying on the cold floor for who knows how long. She took another small step toward Raina as she asked, "why are you doing this, what do you want from me?"

"Why Hel, I just wanted to spend a little time with you. Is that such a crime? After all we have sooo much in common," Raina said in a dangerous, yet almost seductive voice.

Snort. "We have nothing in common," Hel said, disgusted at the very idea. "We're as different as night and day Raina."

"Are you sure about that?"

Raina walked towards Hel and slowly circled around her. When she was once again in front of her she raised her hand and slowly ran one finger down the side of Hel's cheek, down her neck. She leaned in and whispered into her ear, "you thought I was dead...didn't you? Well guess what," she inhaled deeply and then breathed, "I'm not!"

Hel took a step back trying to regain a little personal space, not liking the almost intimate closeness.

"Are you scared of me?" Raina asked, almost innocently. "Well Hel, it's not me you should be afraid of."

Then Raina did something totally unexpected. She removed the gauntlets from her arms and handed them to Hel.

* * *

><p>"You're kidding...right? What gives Sarge, why the morbid outfits?" Cleo asked as she looked down at the skin tight black jumpsuit she was wearing. It was smooth except for small raised lines that ran from the bottom of each leg, up the thigh, over the hips then up the torso to the neck and down both arms where it finally slit and ran down the backs and fronts of each finger. "Not only is this thing ugly, it's uncomfortable and not to mention hot. When I finally take this off I think an entire layer of skin will come with it."<p>

"Ugh," Cleo grunted as she sat down to put on her black boots, "and could it BE any tighter?"

Sarge sighed as she finished with the last of the latches on her boots. The suits were uncomfortable, she knew that but they were necessary and she had to make Cleo see that. "Think of it as exfoliating, Sarge replied dryly. "Look Cleo, the bar we're going to has a kind of dress code. If you don't look like her type of people, you don't get in. And we need into that bar Cleo. Hel's life may depend on it. Besides, this outfit comes with a few surprises."

"Her type?" Who's type? Who's her? And what surprises?" Cleo asked in a rushed jumble of words.

"Her name is Akali but she calls herself The Underground Goddess. She runs the bar, and most of the freaks that hang there, but she doesn't just sell drinks. She's an assassin, a good one too because no one ever expects it coming from such a beautiful woman," Sarge explained, oblivious to the look of curiousity mixed with jealousy that crossed Cleo's face. "I've had a few run in's with her. She's very mysterious, no one seems to know much about her... and that makes her dangerous."

"Oh," Cleo said sensing that Sarge didn't want to elaborate any further. Cleo knew that Sarge wasn't always the woman she now saw before her. She often wondered about her past but figured that when Sarge was ready to talk about it, she would.

"To get in you have to wear black, to show respect," Sarge explained, the last words spoken in a wry tone as she rolled her eyes. "And the ones who hang there all the time...they'll do anything she asks. It's kind of strange."

"Almost like a cult?" Cleo asked then noticed the questioning look on Sarge's face. "Yet another word that didn't make it to the year 2525. A cult... a group of people who follow a leader and the leader's beliefs. They wear strange clothes, some have secret handshakes, real weird stuff."

"If that's what a cult is then yeah...a cult."

"But what about our gauntlets? We can't just go traipsing after Raina with no weapons."

"Who said anything about no weapons," commented Sarge with a gleam in her eye. She then crossed over to a storage unit on the other side of the lab and pulled out a gauntlet. "Mauser and Hel have been working on the new design for months."

Cleo practically skipped over to where Sarge stood and took the gauntlet from her hand and slipped it on her forearm. "Oooooooooooo, we are stylin' girlfriend!" Cleo exclaimed, admiring the new look. Sarge handed her the other gauntlet and then took two identical ones out for herself.

The newer model gauntlets were a sleek black design, smaller, lighter and a lot less conspicuous. "But I still don't see how we're supposed to 'blend in' with weapons on our arms. And dressed like this? Well, it just screams trouble."

Sarge just grinned and said, "I saved the best part for last." She led Cleo over to the reflective side of one of the computers where she'd seen Cleo admire herself a million times. She positioned Cleo in front of it and stood behind her. "Press those buttons on the underside of your gauntlets..."

"Alright...but I don't see wh-a-a..." Cleo started to say as she pressed the button on one of her gauntlets but didn't finish her sentence. As she pressed the first button she noticed her reflection change. The gauntlet had disappeared. But when she looked down at her arm she could see it. "How, what...?"

"When you put the gauntlet on it triggers the sensors which are built into the suit. The gauntlets themselves emit a force field that makes them invisible, but the problem always was looking like you had no arms."

"I could see why that would be a problem..." Cleo said absentmindedly as she nodded her head.

"The suit sensors," Sarge began as she lifted Cleo's arm and ran a finger down the barely noticeable lines as she continued to speak, "they project an identical holographic image of your arms and hands and fingers so it looks as though you're not armed. And the same sensors," her finger continued to trace the small line up her arm, onto her collarbone and finally to the nape of Cleo's neck where the suit came to an end, "allow you to see what no one else can."

"High tech camouflage! Mad cool."

"Mad Cool," Sarge agreed as she pushed the small silver buttons on the underside of her own gauntlets and watched as the the reflection of her gauntlet was replaced with an exact likeness of her own arm. She looked up at Cleo. "I think we're ready."

Sarge and Cleo were walking down a very narrow tunnel which slanted ever so slighly downward. The walls were smooth and dark and almost seemed to shimmer. There was barely any light, Sarge could just faintly make out a dim glow at the other end of the tunnel which she knew was the entrance to the bar.

Sarge hadn't been here in years. She wondered if anyone would recognize her. She wondered whether it would be the same old crowd.

"You've got to be kidding me," Cleo leaned in and whispered up to Sarge bringing the taller woman out of her thoughts. "Of all the trends to make it to the year 2525...it had to be goth." Cleo then glanced back at the doorman and a group of people waiting to get inside. They were all dressed in various black outfits, it reminded Cleo all too much of a Marilyn Manson video. Her nose crinkled up in disgust at the thought.

"What's goth?"

Cleo rolled her eyes, "I'll explain later. Hey, what's the name of this place?" she asked, her voice trying to rise over the music which had been growing louder by the step..

"The Krypt, why?"

"Just wondering." Cleo replied as they reached the end of the corridor. They were standing in front of a giant archway of jagged, pointy black rocks. "The bar is right through there," Sarge said as she pointed at a swirling curtain of bluish mist. The eerie music was so loud the girls could now feel the pulsating rhythm beating in their chests. Sarge looked down at Cleo and young girl nodded, signaling she was ready. Sarge stepped into the mist with Cleo following right behind her.

* * *

><p>"You're more insane than I thought you were," Hel said with wide eyes as she grabbed her gauntlets from Raina's outstretched arms. "Do you have a death wish?"<p>

Raina stood still, looking arrogant, her gaze steadily fixed on Hel. "You won't kill me Hel."

"And what in the world would make you think that?"

"Simple. You want to know what happened. You want to know why you're here. You want to know why I didn't just kill you and why I just handed you your weapons. But most of all Hel...I'm unarmed and we both know you'd never kill in cold blood," Raina stated smugly.

"You said that you're not the one I should be afraid of. Well Raina...enlighten me. Just who should I be worried about?"

"The woman who, posing as the Voice, sent you on a mission that was supposed to end in your death. The woman who was hired to kill you. Akali, The Underground Goddess...assassin...whatever," Raina said with a bit of disdain.

"Wait a minute...are you telling me this woman can 'pose' as the Voice? Not mind control, but actually send a transmission into my voice receptor?" Hel paused for a moment hoping Raina would say something and when she didn't Hel continued. "How? And who hired her? Creegan?"

"That's your job to find out, now isn't it?"

"I don't understand...was it you that cut the receptor out of my ear?" Hel asked.

"Yes. Otherwise she would've been able to follow us here."

Raina was not being very forthcoming with her answers and Hel was starting to get annoyed. She turned away from Raina and took a deep breath, trying to gather her thoughts. Now that she had her gauntlets she used the lights to have a look around. They were in a small, almost circular cave. The walls were smooth. Whoever had built the system of tunnels really took their time. There were several openings which Hel guessed were passages. She wondered where they led. She also wondered why Raina had saved her, why she was brought here and where Raina fit into all of this. If she wasn't responsible , then..."Raina, why did...," she started to ask as she turned around to where Raina had been standing but stopped as she realized the woman was not there. A few quick passes with the beam of light confirmed it. Raina was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: Cleo and all her friends from the TV show Cleopatra 2525 do not belong to me. The are the sole property of Studios USA/Renaissance Pictures. I just borrowed them for a while, purely for non-profit, of course. The following story is property of the author. Do not duplicate, archive or link to without the authors' consent (of course if you're from Renpics and you want to use any of my subtextual ideas/scenes...feel free *g*).

TECHNOLOGICAL DISCLAIMER:Now folks...I never said I was any good at the 'techie stuff'. My fanfic tends to lean towards the 'mushy relationship stuff'. I made up a few gadgets in this piece and tried to write in a little more action but it probably isn't perfect so just remember...it's fiction.

RATING: T+

WARNING:Suggested violence, some questionable language and a little flirting. If you think any of that will bother you, go away. ;)

Author's note: Anything bold, italicized AND within single quotations is the Voice. 'Like this!'

* * *

><p><strong>Expectations<strong> ~ Chapter 4

By: RainaRose (LavenderFirefly)

"Uh, Sarge. Where are you...I can't see anything. I didn't think this mist would be so thick," Cleo yelled above the music. She was waving her hands frantically in front of her, unsuccessfully trying to clear a line of site.

"I'm right in front of you Cleo...just follow the sound of my voice."

"Ummmgph." Cleo grunted as she walked into the back of Sarge. "Ooo...sorry Sarge. I didn't see you," Cleo screamed into Sarge's ear.

Sarge winced. "Obviously. Here, take my hand until we get out of here...I don't want to lose you and I definitely don't want you knocking me over or something."

Cleo felt for Sarge's arm and slipped her hand into hers. She felt Sarge give a little squeeze. "We should almost be there. The mist is thicker than I remember but I..."

Sarge stopped mid-sentence as a purple beam, about 5 inches thick suddenly appeared in front of them. "Wh-h-haat's th-th-aat?" Cleo asked but Sarge clammed a hand firmly over the young girl's mouth. "Shhhhhhhhh," she said as she removed her hand. "We're being scanned. Should be alright though. I hope..."

Before Sarge could finish her sentence the purple beam and the mist was gone and they were standing in The Krypt. The floor was a dark stone, polished so smooth that they could see their reflection and the reflection of the crystalline ceiling high above them, which glowed a very pretty bluish-green color. This caused a strange sense of floating when one looked down and it was even more intensified when one was under the influence of chemical substances...which was a popular pastime in places like this.

Sarge looked around. The chamber they were in wasn't really that large...it was about the size of the lab Sarge guessed. Almost rectangular in shape with several small alcoves carved into the walls which glowed like the ceiling. Each alcove contained tall, round tables. The bar was very dark, the main source of light being the phosphorescent walls and ceiling, which made the bar dangerous.

Hmmmmm, more crowded than I remember... but still the same old scumbags,' she thought to herself. 'Some things never change.' Her gaze came to rest upon a hollow, crescent shaped structure standing in the middle of the room. "That must be the bar...come on Cleo," Sarge leaned over and shouted into the smaller girl's ear. "Let's get a drink and make our way to the back wall of the bar...here," she pointed nonchalantly to the small holo-display on her camouflaged gauntlet. Cleo just nodded, not even looking to where Sarge had pointed. "Follow my lead, OK? The sooner we do this the sooner we can get the hell out of this place and find Hel."

Sarge finally notice that Cleo was paying her no attention. The young blond's eyes were fixed to the floor and her body was slowly swaying back and forth to the beat of the music. "Whoa. I'm feeling a little woozy. What the heck was in that mist?"

Sarge grabbed Cleo's chin and lifted her face so that her eyes were looking into the bar. "There wasn't anything in the mist Cleo...look straight ahead, focus on what we're here to do and you'll be fine. Come on." Sarge put her hand on the small of Cleo's back and gave her a shove toward the large crowd of people surrounding the glowing circular fixture in the center of the room. "I want to get out of here before I run into Akali."

Cleo nodded. "Good plan."

* * *

><p>"Dammit," Hel cursed aloud. "RAINA!"<p>

Hel turned in all directions, waving the beam of light searching for a clue as to which way Raina had went. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!"

Shaking her head she looked down at her gauntlet and activated the tracking device which Raina had turned off, then she brought up the communication panel. "Sarge, this is Hel, are you there? Can you hear me? Cleo? Mauser?" No response.

"Dammit. Where the hell is everyone?" If what Raina said was true and this Akali was using Sarge and Cleo as bait... then they could be in serious trouble. But that didn't explain the lack of response from Mauser. Hel fears were growing by the minute. "OK, first things first...I have to get back to the lab and see if I can find out where Sarge and Cleo are," she said to herself. She brought up a map on her gauntlet but as she figured, the tunnel she was in wasn't shown. She looked at her position in relation to the lab and took a guess...she headed for a tunnel off to her left.

High above her, Raina clung to the wall...watching with a smile. As soon as Hel had entered the tunnel, she scurried down the wall and quietly followed along on the ceiling. Earlier while Hel was passed out, she had loaded false maps into her gauntlet. With that, and the subtlety planted suggestion to take the tunnel she was currently in, Hel was going right where Raina wanted her. So while Hel thought she was on her way to the lab...she was actually headed right to the Krypt.

* * *

><p>Cleo was aware she was being gently led into the mass of dancing goth freaks but all she could think of was Sarge's hand on her back. The music had switched from a loud, pulsating noise to a slower, almost hypnotic chant. She noticed that couples were pairing off, which made their passage through the bar a bit easier, but it also made her wish she could turn around and grab Sarge and dance the slow sensual dance she was now seeing where ever she looked.<p>

'Oh my god Cleo...get a grip,' Cleo thought to herself. 'Your teammate and one of your closest friends...OK, one of your ONLY friends, is in trouble and all you can think of is how hot Sarge is in that tight black...UGH...stop it Cleo.'

"Something wrong, Cleo?" Sarge asked.

"Wrong? Oh no...everything's fine. Uh, yeah...fine, and uh, how are you?" Cleo stuttered and blushed.

Sarge stepped from behind Cleo to stand in front of her, her hand moving from the small of her back around to her right side. "You and I are going to have a little chat after all of this is over," she said as she looked at a flustered Cleo.

"Yeah, whatever Sarge. Let's just go get that drink. I could really use one." Cleo brushed past Sarge and nudged her way up to the bar.

Sarge grinned a shitty little grin as she watched her head to the bar. Sometimes Cleo was just so obvious. 'But now isn't the time, she thought as she pushed her way up to the bar to stand next to the small blond.

"I'll take a nash," said Sarge to the nearest bartender.

The bartender shifter her gaze to Cleo. "Will you be having the same dahrrrrlinnnnnnnnn?" she hissed, a forked tongue making a brief appearance.

"Got anything stronger?" Cleo asked as she watched the green-skinned woman's cat-like eyes blink sideways. "I could really use a shot of Wild Turkey right now."

"Uh, she'll have the same as me," Sarge insisted. "Wild what?"

"Lighten up Sarge...one drink isn't gonna kill me."

"No," Sarge whispered, "but it might kill Hel. I need you to be thinking clearly Cleo. We can't afford to make any mistakes".

'But at least I got her mind back on the mission and off of other things,' Sarge thought to herself.

When the bartender returned with the two drinks Sarge quickly paid her, picked up the drinks and with a tilt of the head motioned for Cleo to head towards an empty table in the back of the bar.

* * *

><p>"Dammit!" Hel exclaimed as she glanced around at a dead end. "I know there should be and exit to the lab here somewhere...it's right here on the damn map." Hel let out a frustrated sigh. "And where the hell is that music coming from? I swear Cleo, if you're having a party, I'll kill ya."<p>

"The funny thing about gauntlet maps is...they can be altered," Raina laughed as she dropped down from the wall high above Hel.

"Raina...why? Why? I need to get back to the lab. I need..."

"You are EXACTLY where you need to be. Trust me."

"Trust you? Trust you? You've got to be kidding me." Hel rolled her eyes is disbelief and then stared at the woman in front of her.

"Oh no Hel, this is no joke." Raina's eyes settled on something behind Hel and she tilted her head slightly towards it. "In there's where your biggest problem is..and in there is where your friends are."

Hel turned her head in the direction Raina had indicated and was surprised to see what appeared to be a door. And when she turned back, Raina was once again gone. "Damn bitch," she muttered. "What are you up to?"

* * *

><p>Sarge and Cleo reached the back of the bar and settled themselves at a small table. Sarge leaned her head in and whispered, "there...there's where the opening is...I think."<p>

"You think...you think?"

"Hey, it's be a while alright. Give me a fuckin' break."

"Yup, it's been a while alright...I can tell."

Sarge ignored the comment. It was not the time or the place. "Come on...let's move closer to..." Sarge had started to get up but froze in place as she heard a voice she had hoped to never hear again.

"Ah, Sarge! How nice of you to visit." A tall, dark and absolutely stunning woman with piercing black eyes and long black hair seemingly stepped out of nowhere.

"Akali."

The mysterious woman put her hands on the table and leaned forward showing her creamy white cleavage. "Don't tell me you're leaving already...you just got here." Suddenly, the table was surrounded by a lot of scary looking people with ever scarier looking weapons. "And I've been expecting you."

"Oh shit," Cleo and Sarge mumble simultaneously.

Akali just laughed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN ~ I never finished this story. It's been years since anyone has seen these stories and I doubt very much anyone will be reading them now. I uploaded them to qualify to beta read. However, if you've found your way here and you're interested in seeing me finish it, just holla!**


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